Why it matters

The alcohol industry sent 2400 posters with misleading information to doctors.

DrinkWise has removed and replaced all posters, saying it acted immediately.

Thousands of posters warning pregnant women about the dangers of alcohol have had to be removed from the walls of hospitals and GP clinics around the country.

Fairfax Media can reveal DrinkWise, a "safe drinking" group almost entirely funded by alcohol companies, recently withdrew 2400 pregnancy warning posters after doctors and health groups told it the message was "utterly wrong".

While the headline "It's safest not to drink while pregnant" reflected government guidelines, the text beneath, including the words "It's not known if alcohol is safe to drink when you are pregnant", was considered misleading and inaccurate.

From afar, the posters appear the same. But the original poster (left) was replaced with an updated message after complaints.

Tony Bartone, president of the AMA, who raised concerns with DrinkWise, said the small print was "fundamentally incorrect" because the science was clear that alcohol had devastating effects on unborn babies.

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"Alcohol is a teratogen, it can cause birth defects, so we couldn't understand why that messaging was there," he said.

"I told them about the misleading information and potential outcomes and they responded in a quick and timely manner."

DrinkWise produced the posters and enlisted Tonic Health Media to distribute them to a "small number of hospitals" and thousands of GP clinics across the country.

All the posters have now been replaced with an updated DrinkWise poster.

The fine print of the poster that DrinkWise was forced to recall.

Dr Bartone questioned how DrinkWise was able to spread "misinformation" in the first place and called for greater transparency.

"Anyone reading the poster should know the origin immediately, which organisation made it and who is funding that organisation."

While the AMA spoke with DrinkWise, the Foundation of Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) worked with Tonic to get the offending posters removed.

Michael Thorn, CEO of FARE, said the close call was another reason why the alcohol industry had no place in the public health information space.

The replacement DrinkWise poster.

"The message was utterly wrong. If it hadn’t been for our vigilance, it would have been blasted on the walls of GP surgeries," he said.

Mr Thorne believes the DrinkWise campaign is part of the industry's strategy to thwart the implementation of mandatory alcohol pregnancy warning labels, as recommended by the Blewett Review in 2011.

“It's a textbook example of just how reckless and negligent the alcohol industry is prepared to be, stepping into an area ordinarily the responsibility of government, solely in an effort to stave off the threat of responsible and effective regulation," he said.

"The warning needs to be on all alcohol products and needs to be blunt and to the point – 'Do not drink during pregnancy or if you're thinking of becoming pregnant'."

Simon Strahan, CEO of DrinkWise, said the original poster had been reviewed by medical professionals and when it had heard from the AMA, immediately took the opportunity to "refine the message".

"DrinkWise is committed to communicating the importance of women abstaining from alcohol while pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding," he said.

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Fairfax Media has seen details of its 2018-2020 "messaging initiatives", which includes reaching 60,000 new mothers via leaflets in free Bounty Bags, 180,000 via full page advertisements in Shopping for Baby magazine, and 5000 via direct email.

When asked if the health messages would be accurate, Mr Strahan said: "Further material ... reflects the wording that abstaining from alcohol while pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding is a very important choice women can make for the health of their baby."

Tonic's managing director, Matthew Cullen, said when it checked the poster's content, it interpreted the problematic line "as talking about safe drinking levels not being known".

"When DrinkWise brought the potential for consumer misinterpretation to our attention, we unreservedly agreed with the proposed change and, with DrinkWise, replaced the existing poster as quickly as possible," he said.

It's well established that drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and a range of lifelong physical, behavioural and intellectual disabilities.

DrinkWise wouldn't provide a funding breakdown, but it receives payments from alcohol businesses such as Lion Beer Australia and Treasury Wine Estates.